By Heard Editors

What Happened in Markets Today:

Major indexes gave up gains in the afternoon. After marching higher in morning trading, stocks lost steam. The Nasdaq Composite ended up 0.3% and the S&P 500 was little changed. The Dow industrials dropped 0.4%. Tesla shares slid 4%.

All eyes are on Nvidia. The AI bellwether reported fourth-quarter results after the market close. Nvidia's chips are the computational workhorses of artificial intelligence, and the company's quarterly reports have become gauges of the health of the AI boom.

The U.S. is considering 25% tariffs on the European Union. President Trump made the declaration at the White House on Wednesday, adding more detail to the tariff threat he has issued against the 27-nation bloc.

A GOP budget plan that requires deep cuts to Medicaid spending spooked investors. The budget battered shares of health insurers and hospitals that do big business in the government funded health program. Shares of Centene, the biggest manager of state Medicaid programs, fell 7.2%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose nearly 1% to a record close. European stocks have been bolstered by solid earnings from companies including Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch InBev.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 26, 2025 17:16 ET (22:16 GMT)

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